History Main / SecretArt

* EarthsChildren: The Sharamudoi people have a secret technique for making chamois skin very soft and pliable, and only members of their cave are allowed to know it. This is done for economic reasons--soft chamois is a valuable commodity and other tribes trade things they want for it.

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* EarthsChildren: ''Literature/EarthsChildren'': The Sharamudoi people have a secret technique for making chamois skin very soft and pliable, and only members of their cave are allowed to know it. This is done for economic reasons--soft chamois is a valuable commodity and other tribes trade things they want for it.

* The Wrestling/{{Chikara}} Special, as submission hold developed by Wrestling/MikeQuackenbush that he would only teach to {{tecnico}}s that worked for the promotion. Wrestling/ChrisHero had to send [[TheMole a mole]] into the tecnico locker room to pass it on to him but the mole was detected before the counters and escapes weren't learned.[[/folder]]

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* The Wrestling/{{Chikara}} Special, as submission hold developed by Wrestling/MikeQuackenbush that he would only teach to {{tecnico}}s that worked for the promotion. Wrestling/ChrisHero had to send [[TheMole a mole]] into the tecnico locker room to pass it on to him but the mole was detected before the counters and escapes weren't could also be learned.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]* The Wrestling/{{Chikara}} Special, as submission hold developed by Wrestling/MikeQuackenbush that he would only teach to {{tecnico}}s that worked for the promotion. Wrestling/ChrisHero had to send [[TheMole a mole]] into the tecnico locker room to pass it on to him but the mole was detected before the counters and escapes weren't learned.[[/folder]]

Sometimes the technique is similar to LostTechnology being a SupernaturalMartialArts techniques, [[FunctionalMagic magical spells]] or just [[YakitateJapan bread-making techniques]] that were invented eons ago but have been lost/buried/forgotten/not quite destroyed for a variety of reasons.

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Sometimes the technique is similar to LostTechnology being a SupernaturalMartialArts techniques, [[FunctionalMagic magical spells]] or just [[YakitateJapan [[Manga/YakitateJapan bread-making techniques]] that were invented eons ago but have been lost/buried/forgotten/not quite destroyed for a variety of reasons.

* ''{{Naruto}}'' has a few forbidden Jutsu sealed away in scrolls kept heavily guarded due to them being either {{Dangerous Forbidden Technique}}s or TheDarkArts. The series also has Secret Jutsu, which are usually carefully guarded techniques passed down a clan as part of their ThemeDeck.* ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' has a number of examples:

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* ''{{Naruto}}'' ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has a few forbidden Jutsu sealed away in scrolls kept heavily guarded due to them being either {{Dangerous Forbidden Technique}}s or TheDarkArts. The series also has Secret Jutsu, which are usually carefully guarded techniques passed down a clan as part of their ThemeDeck.* ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' has a number of examples:

* ''Film/StarWars'': The Force, though the ''StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' shows that the Jedi Order doesn't have quite as strict a monopoly on Force abilities as they'd perhaps like.

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* ''Film/StarWars'': ''Franchise/StarWars'': The Force, though the ''StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' shows Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse and [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]] show that the Jedi Order doesn't have quite as strict a monopoly on Force abilities as they'd perhaps like.

* In the ''YoungWizards'' series, every entity in existence (people, planets, universes, etc) has a "kernel", a wadded-up line of symbols from the LanguageOfMagic which both describes and ''is'' the laws by which that entity operates. Since letting any random wizard who felt like it alter a planet's kernel would be a Bad Idea, the knowledge and training of how to manipulate kernels is provided on a strict need-to-know basis. On any given planet populated by sentient beings, there's probably only one or two wizards who can do kernel manipulation.

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* In the ''YoungWizards'' ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series, every entity in existence (people, planets, universes, etc) has a "kernel", a wadded-up line of symbols from the LanguageOfMagic which both describes and ''is'' the laws by which that entity operates. Since letting any random wizard who felt like it alter a planet's kernel would be a Bad Idea, the knowledge and training of how to manipulate kernels is provided on a strict need-to-know basis. On any given planet populated by sentient beings, there's probably only one or two wizards who can do kernel manipulation.

* In {{Pokemon}}, many Pokémon, mostly Legendaries, have an attack only that specific Pokémon (and its family, if it has one) can use under normal circumstances. Bulbapedia lists the article as "Signature Move", but it's not to be confused with the trope SignatureMove.

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* In {{Pokemon}}, many ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'':** Many Pokémon, mostly Legendaries, have an attack only that specific Pokémon (and its family, if it has one) can use under normal circumstances. Bulbapedia lists the article as "Signature Move", but it's not to be confused with the trope SignatureMove.

* In ''TheSlayers'', cooking dragon meat is a secret art, and you have to endure a harsh apprenticeship from an OldMaster to learn how to do it. It turns out it's incredibly difficult to catch dragons and slay them with kitchen implements, and it's even harder (and incredibly time-consuming) to cook their meat properly and remove all poison from it.

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* In ''TheSlayers'', ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}'', cooking dragon meat is a secret art, and you have to endure a harsh apprenticeship from an OldMaster to learn how to do it. It turns out it's incredibly difficult to catch dragons and slay them with kitchen implements, and it's even harder (and incredibly time-consuming) to cook their meat properly and remove all poison from it.

[[folder:Web Comics]]* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the [[AntiMagic Spellsplinter Maneuver]] is well-known enough amongst fighters and swordsmen that it can be recognized on sight, but the only person alive who knows how to execute the technique is [[spoiler: Roy Greenhilt, who learned the technique from his grandfather while he was spending time in the afterlife]].[[/folder]]

Perhaps their [[AndManGrewProud civilization collapsed]] or these techniques were simply were too powerful and/or dangerous and needed to be [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]]; the point is, no one has seen and/or heard about them in a very long time. They will always, however, be superior to their modern counterpart, which will often make them the subject of a lengthy search quest by heroes or villains to further the plot.

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Perhaps their [[AndManGrewProud civilization collapsed]] or these techniques were simply were too powerful and/or dangerous and needed to be [[SealedEvilInACan [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique sealed away]]; the point is, no one has seen and/or heard about them in a very long time. They will always, however, be superior to their modern counterpart, which will often make them the subject of a lengthy search quest by heroes or villains to further the plot.

* In ''TheSlayers'', cooking dragon meat is apparently a secret art, and you have to endure a harsh apprenticeship from an OldMaster to learn how to do it. It turns out it's incredibly difficult to catch dragons and slay them with kitchen implements, and it's even harder (and incredibly time-consuming) to cook their meat properly and remove all poison from it.* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'', Mustang's flame alchemy is shown to be this in a flashback sequence, with the formula for it being tattooed onto the back of a flame alchemist's chosen second (in Mustang's case, it's Hawkeye) and never written down so that only the rightful heir to flame alchemy can ever learn it. Probably a good thing, considering how enormously destructive flame alchemy is demonstrated to be throughout the series.

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* In ''TheSlayers'', cooking dragon meat is apparently a secret art, and you have to endure a harsh apprenticeship from an OldMaster to learn how to do it. It turns out it's incredibly difficult to catch dragons and slay them with kitchen implements, and it's even harder (and incredibly time-consuming) to cook their meat properly and remove all poison from it.* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'', Mustang's flame alchemy is shown to be this in a flashback sequence, with the formula for it being tattooed onto the back of a flame alchemist's chosen second (in Mustang's case, it's Hawkeye) and never written down so that only the rightful heir to flame alchemy can ever learn it. Probably It's a good thing, considering how enormously destructive flame alchemy is demonstrated to be throughout the series.

* The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Straight Chisel School]] of stonesculpting in ''Literature/CoilingDragon'' allows Earth-style magi to use their sense of stone to carve without the use of precision tools. [[SpiritAdvisor Doehring Cowart]] developed it during his life, but [[TheHero Linley]] is the only person to have learned it.

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* ''Literature/CoilingDragon'': The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Straight Chisel School]] of stonesculpting in ''Literature/CoilingDragon'' allows Earth-style magi to use their sense of stone to carve without the use of precision tools. [[SpiritAdvisor Doehring Cowart]] developed it during his life, but [[TheHero Linley]] is the only person to have learned it.it.*''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Magic has a lot of these. ** In ''Literature/AMagesPower'', Dengel teaches Eric a tracking spell that cannot be blocked or obstructed by any means. This makes Eric the first person to ''ever'' learn it because it is AwesomeButImpractical. Dengel never bothered to name it because he knew no one he taught in his previous life time would ever use it.** In ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', Grey Dengel teaches Eric "Mana Conversion" which enables him to dissolve physical matter into {{mana}} for use in spells. No one else knows this because it is an EnlightenmentSuperpower that few can achieve with their sanity in tact.

[[folder: Visual Novels]]* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', [[spoiler:Souichirou Kuzuki]] is a master at a secret assassination martial art only referred to as "Snake". The art focuses on using misdirection and hooked movements that are actually ''more'' effective the more well-trained the opponent is in traditional martial arts, as they rely on fooling the fighter's training and exploiting holes in their defenses. However, the art's real effectiveness is in the element of surprise and catching the victim off-guard: once a skilled fighter realizes the nature of the art, they can adjust to match it, and then the Snake practitioner is at a severe disadvantage.[[/folder]]

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